MANSFIELD – City council chose to delay rather than take an immediate vote Tuesday on a Mansfield Fire Department proposal to use improved PRIDE tax funding to pay for on-site fuel pumps at two stations.

Council voted 6-0 to give that plan an additional reading, after some council members expressed concerns about how those expenses fit into the city’s long-term plan for manning fire stations and making sure needs for updated fire equipment are met.

Assistant Fire Chief Jim Bishop made a pitch Tuesday for installing two 1,000 gallon fuel tanks at the station on West Third Street and South Main, for use by fire vehicles and occasionally police vehicles in the vicinity.

The city formerly maintained a fuel station at the city garage, but that was shut down due to leaks in aging tanks, Bishop said.

In recent years, the fire department has had contracts with gas stations, but the locations of diesel fuel pumps forces firefighters from some stations to send trucks far from their usual working area.

Bishop estimated the fire department could save $5,200 annually on fuel costs required for travel to commercial stations, by installing tanks. The fuel tanks could be paid for over two years, with the city recouping the expense in savings over 15 years, he said.

“We’ve got PRIDE money, it has been talked about for years, and it seems like the right thing to do at this time,” he said.

Chief Steve Strickling could not attend the meeting Tuesday.

At-large Councilwoman Ellen Haring said council members had not had enough opportunity to hear about the project, and she was concerned how that spending fit into the larger spending picture.

“How will you pay for future capital needs, if you spend this now?” she said.

With the city just out of fiscal emergency, “I have a real concern about timing,” 3rd Ward Councilman Jon VanHarlingen said. “We still have firefighters on a grant that’s going to run out in the near future,” he said. “My No. 1 concern is that we hang on to those employees we have.”

VanHarlingen added he intended to ask for more information on other fire department needs, including the age of fire trucks. “I don’t think the money will disappear, if we don’t do anything tonight.”

“At this point, I don’t think there’s enough revenue to cover the capital request. I think there will be enough revenue to cover operations only,” Finance Director Linn Steward told council, when asked to give her opinion.

City Engineer Bob Bianchi told council members it’s not always clear cut whether savings will result from bulk fuel purchases, but added “it seems like communities are moving more toward fueling stations.”

In other action Tuesday, council authorized applying for $500,000 in State Issue 1 funds, to finance part of the local match on a $4.5 million project to widen South Trimble Road, from Cook Road to Marion Avenue.

A federal grant that would pay 80 percent of the cost was approved a couple of months ago. The city would continue to search for grants to help fund for the remaining $400,000 needed to accomplish the road widening project, Bianchi said.

Council also approved entering into a contract to perform emergency repairs of the sanitary sewer system behind Redwood Road.

During a claims committee meeting, Law Director John Spon recommended paying $6,000 to Alma Bragg, a Winding Way resident whose home suffered flood damages. Spon said the damage, which included black mold, was some of the worst he has seen, and said it was possible Bragg might prevail in a lawsuit, if the claim were denied.

After council met in executive session for 10 minutes to discuss the issue, the claims committee recommended that the city pay Bragg the $6,000.